


Routine

by CaramelKruze



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gavin Reed Needs a Hug, Gavin Reed Redemption, Gavin Reed is Bad at Feelings, Gavin is mean but only because he doesn't know how else to react to emotions he doesn't like, M/M, RK900 is called 'Nines', Self-Esteem Issues, Soft Upgraded Connor | RK900, Swearing, Touch-Starved, Touch-Starved Gavin Reed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:07:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23591332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaramelKruze/pseuds/CaramelKruze
Summary: Things were changing, and Gavin was just going to have to accept that fact.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 16
Kudos: 179





	Routine

**Author's Note:**

> Quarantine has me back into Detroit: Become Human and also feeling extremely touch-starved which has obviously resulted in me projecting onto characters.

After you acted like an asshole for so long, it was hard to change that. People came to expect it, and so did you. That was what made change so hard. 

Gavin had spent so long telling himself that was just the way things were; that was the way he was meant to act. It was less of an active effort to be mean, and more of a reflexive instinct. It was to protect himself if he was being honest. 

He didn’t like emotional vulnerability, so he made sure no one would ever even want to get to that point with him. He made sure that he pushed people away to a comfortable distance. He had a few friends, of course, but they would never get closer than he wanted them to. He told himself that this was what he wanted. Told it to himself for so long that it became normal; no longer an act or a facade and instead just his natural way of living. 

There was always some small part of him that wanted something more though. Every now and then that little voice in the back of his mind would chirp up about how nice it would be to have someone he could completely trust. Then another voice would say something along the lines of how he didn’t deserve it, and then he would build up the wall a little bit stronger and resume his normal, closed-off way of life. He would busy himself with work. Let whatever case he was working on consume him for a while just so he wouldn’t have to think about anything else. There were weeks where he would barely sleep at all, coffee barely enough to keep him awake throughout the day. He was good at his job, and he took pride in that. A lack of sleep was not justification for him to jeopardize his work. 

After the android revolution happened the DPD had some changes, obviously. Connor still worked there, now a permanent detective alongside Hank. Gavin had apologized for the things he had done before, but it was simply to remain civil. He still hated the android, and he was definitely not willing to admit that he might have felt just a bit better after Connor had smiled and quickly forgiven him.

Since androids were able to live their lives as they pleased, Gavin knew that it was only a matter of time before another tin can was employed to work alongside them at the DPD. 

He did not, however, ever think that Fowler would even consider making this new android detective his partner. 

As much as he would have loved to voice his concern (along with a few other choice words), he knew that his complaints would have fallen on uncaring ears. Things were changing, and Gavin was just going to have to accept that fact. 

That did not mean that he had to like it. 

* * *

His new partner was an RK unit like Connor, only he was an RK900. He had told Gavin that he could call him “Nines”, and Gavin had told _him_ that he could “fuck off”. Nines was, of course, unfazed by this, and resigned himself to working with Gavin regardless of how he was going to act, opting to give no reaction to his childish outbursts in favour of working together in silence. Gavin might have felt a little bad, but old habits die hard, and he was a stubborn son of a bitch. 

* * *

Their first case together was fairly quick. 

Nines only needed fifteen minutes at the crime scene to get a good idea of what had happened, and the two of them had the suspect arrested the same day. 

Gavin had seen Connor do much of the same work, but Nines was different from Connor in a multitude of ways, for example, the fact that Nines didn’t have to shove evidence into his mouth to analyze it. Gavin was thankful for this. 

Nines was a lot quieter. He was also a lot calmer, in a sense. Gavin couldn’t really describe it, but Nines was more collected. Calculative might have been a good word. Gavin found it easy to be mean to Connor, but Nines was almost too intimidating. Gavin would never admit that he was intimidated by Nines, at least not out loud; but when Nines would stare him down every time he tried to insult him, it sent a shiver down his back that he couldn’t explain. That was half of the reason that he stopped insulting his partner whenever he got the chance. The other half, was because he was actually beginning to like the androids company. 

And while Gavin maintained that same wall of cold indifference that he had for everyone else, he could feel it crumble for Nines, if only just a little. 

* * *

It was one of _those_ weeks. One of the ones where sleep evaded Gavin, no matter how much he tried to grasp it. Nines must have noticed day one because the bastard scanned him or something. It also could have been because Gavin was suddenly just as cold as he was when Nines had first met him. 

‘Right back to how things are meant to be’ Gavin had said to himself bitterly, noticing the tension that had returned between himself and Nines. There was that small voice again, however, that missed the way that Nines would look at him, eyes shimmering with amusement after Gavin made some smart-ass comment. 

Gavin had gotten maybe three hours of sleep the previous night, and it was more than obvious. Throughout the week, two or three hours was generally the normal amount he had been getting. 

It didn’t help that the case they had been working on had hit a sudden dead end and they had to wait for a lead to come up, meaning that Gavin couldn’t even bury himself in his work. All he could do was reexamine the same evidence over and over and hope for something to show up, or wait. Both of which seemed like absolute hell. 

“You don’t look well, Detective Reed.” Nines spoke as he looked over the case files again himself, already starting the paperwork.

“Yeah, fuck you too.” There was none of the light joking tone in his voice that Nines had grown familiar with, only exhaustion poorly masked with anger. 

“Your attitude has also been less than desirable this week. Perhaps you should consider the potential that being aggressive to the people around you is not going to suddenly open a lead in the case.” Nines was fed up with him, he could tell that much. Like he cared at all what the robot bastard thought. 

“You know what, I didn’t fucking ask. If it bothers you so much then, by all means, request a different fucking partner.” Gavin was glad that Nines was so hard to read because for a moment Gavin thought that if Nines had reacted to what he had said, he would have felt like shit for saying it. Regardless of whether Nines was actually bothered by his outburst, Gavin still felt a little bad, which only served to sour his mood even more. Nines, however, simply stared at him with narrowed eyes. 

Nines, unlike Connor, was unafraid to show his annoyance with a person and would do so often. Gavin had learned to recognize that annoyance in Nines after working with him for the past few months. This was not that same annoyance. This was annoyance and something else that Gavin couldn’t name. 

“Quit fuckin’ staring at me.” He resisted the urge to add the ‘tin can’ at the end of that sentence, lacking the energy to inject the venom into the words as he had intended. 

Nines hummed and looked back to his own work. 

Gavin tried to continue on his, but found that he couldn’t focus on anything other than the look in Nines eyes that he kept seeing in his head over and over; and the familiar feeling of guilt that sat in his chest. 

* * *

Gavin was still there even though most of the others had left hours ago. Perhaps it was stubbornness… or it might have been spite, regardless, he was still there going through case file after case file trying to find _something_. Nines had also stayed and if Gavin wasn’t so damn tired it probably would have annoyed him.

He didn’t know exactly when he had dozed off, but when he did wake up, the clock on the computer read 9:45 pm. He noticed there was a weight on his shoulders and looked to find that his own jacket had been draped across them. Looking to his right, he saw Nines sitting the same as he was before he had fallen asleep. 

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Normally Nines would shake Gavin’s shoulder if he began to fall asleep at his desk and chastise him about his sleeping patterns. 

“Why would I? So you could stare at the computer for another hour hoping a lead will magically appear?” Nines didn’t sound annoyed, if anything, he sounded concerned. Gavin grumbled a response that vaguely sounded something like a ‘fuck you’. “You should go home and get some rest. You won’t do anyone any good if you are falling asleep at your desk tomorrow.” Gavin realized that he was still wearing the coat when he subconsciously made to draw it closer around him. 

“I’m fine.” 

Nines gave him a look. 

“Okay, fine, I’ll leave.” Gavin made an attempt to get up, but the week of nearly sleepless nights had finally caught up to him and he stumbled momentarily, catching himself with a hand on the desk. Nines looked concerned. 

“I would not suggest driving home, detective, you do not seem well enough to do so.” 

Nines might have been right, but Gavin would never admit that to his face. 

“I can drive you home instead of getting a cab for you if you would prefer.” 

Gavin knew he was better off just letting Nines drive him home. Nines knew where he lived and it was better than having to take a cab. He also knew that Nines was just as stubborn as he was and was not going to give up his insistence that Gavin shouldn’t drive himself. 

He tossed Nines his keys and put his jacket on properly. 

* * *

The drive to his house was uneventful. Gavin found that sleep had suddenly, once again, lost its appeal. He didn’t realize that they had already pulled into the driveway until he heard Nines turn the engine off. Neither of them moved. 

Gavin jumped when he felt Nines’ wrist gently pressed against his forehead; a decidedly human gesture meant to determine if Gavin had a fever. Gavin leaned into the touch without really realizing it. 

“The fuck are you doing?” He had said, unsure of who it was really directed at. 

“Making sure you aren’t feverish.” If Gavin had able to think properly he would have realized that Nines could have done that by simply scanning him. Both Connor and Nines could scan a person and get basic information about their general well-being. But Gavin was too focused on the hand at his forehead that felt much nicer than he was willing to admit to himself or anyone else. When Nines took his hand away, Gavin felt himself already missing the contact. 

“I’m fine, just haven’t slept well is all,” he paused before he added bitterly, “doubt tonight will be any different.” 

“I’ll help you get inside, then I’ll call a cab for myself.” Nines said before getting out of the car. He was ready to help Gavin on the opposite side by the time Gavin got around to opening the door. He gladly leaned into Nines as he offered his arm and they walked up to the front door. 

“Gavin, when was the last time you slept through the night?” Nines had said after they were inside and Gavin had taken off his jacket and gone into the kitchen, trying to ignore the part of him that missed the physical contact.

It took him a minute to process the question, too caught up in the fact that Nines had used his first name instead of ‘detective’ or ‘Reed’ like he usually did. 

“You don’t gotta waste your time worrying about me, I’ll be fine. Thanks for driving me home.” 

“I would not consider it wasted time.” Nines had said it with such a soft, caring tone that it genuinely caught Gavin off guard, his hand hesitating for a moment as he reached for a coffee mug. “I am truly worried about you, Gavin.” Gavin stopped reaching for the mug completely, hands resting on the counter instead. If Nines noticed how they shook ever so slightly then he didn’t mention it. “If you would allow me to, I want to help you if I can.” Gavin clenched his jaw. Nines had moved to lean against the counter beside Gavin. “You deserve help if you need it, you know.” 

“Stop.” Gavin was trying to even out his breathing. 

“I know you’ve been making an effort. In the relatively short time that I’ve known you, I can see that. One bad week is not going to put you straight back to square one. I understand if you want space, but you do not need to push people away.” Nines slowly raised his hand to rest it on Gavin’s shoulder. 

“Fuck, Nines, I don’t know why you’re still so nice to me after all the shit I’ve said to you.” Gavin didn’t move away from Nines’ hand, but he resisted the urge to lean into it. “I’ve never been the nicest to you, or Connor, hell I’m kinda a jackass to almost everyone.” 

“Maybe it’s because we are all just as stubborn as you are.” 

Gavin laughed a little. 

“ But to be fully honest, Gavin, I think you are just forgetting about how much you’ve actually changed over the past few months. You’ve made a lot of progress and I do not want one bad week to make you forget that. You feel bad about your actions, right?” 

“... yeah.” 

“Then you are not a bad person.” 

Gavin sighed, surprised by how shaky it sounded. 

“Thanks, Nines. I’m sorry I’ve been an asshole this week. I was trying, but it’s just so much easier to go back to how I’ve always been. Old habits die hard or something like that I guess.” Gavin raised his hand to cover Nines’ on his shoulder. “Thank you for, uh, everything.” 

Gavin hated having to apologize. It wasn’t that he thought he didn’t need to or something, but rather the pressure that would build up in his throat and the effort he had to put into managing to not cry. Apologizing meant acknowledging that you had done something bad, and as much as he needed to do that, he hated it. 

They sat there in silence for a moment before Nines spoke up.

“Do you want a hug? I know that physical contact can be comforting and can offer reassurance.” Gavin laughed again, a soft, tired laugh. 

“I’m not a baby, Nines, I’ll be fine.” 

“I was serious. I have noticed how you have leaned into my touches tonight. You are allowed to want a simple hug, it is not going to make you seem weak.” Gavin isn’t looking at him, but he can hear the expression on his face. 

“Okay.” It’s quiet when he says it, but Nines hears it. Of course, he hears it. 

When Nines actually wraps his arms around him Gavin feels the safest he has in weeks. He practically melts into the hug, far too tired to give thought to his original concern. When Nines rests his head on the top of his own, he realizes that it has been far too long since he has had anyone be this gentle with him. Before he can really stop himself, tears are forming in his eyes and soaking into Nines’ black shirt. Nines only rubs his hand across Gavin’s back, letting him cry. 

After a few minutes, Gavin trusts himself to be able to speak again. 

“You don’t have to call a cab. If you want to just spend the night it’s fine with me. You don’t have to, of course, but since it’s late and everything I figured maybe- like I said, you don’t have to. I just figured I’d offer, y’know. ” Gavin realizes that he’s rambling and goes to pull away from Nines as he feels him chuckle but freezes when he hears him speak. 

“If you want me to stay, just ask. I’m more than happy to, Gavin.” The way that Nines says his name makes him weak; he says it so reverently and tenderly that it almost overwhelms him. 

“Will you stay?” Gavin asks quietly. The smile he gets from Nines almost makes him forget about everything else. 

Nines brings his hand up to the side of Gavin’s face, brushing the few remaining tears away with his thumb. Gavin had never felt so cared for than he did at that moment, safe in Nines’ arms. Sure, things might have been getting bad again, but he realized that Nines was right. Change took time, and even if he fucked up every now and then, he was still miles ahead of where he was before. Progress was still progress, no matter how small he thought it was. Change was not easy, but he couldn’t just give up because something went wrong. He had people that he could lean on. He didn’t have to be alone. 

“Of course I’ll stay.” 

**Author's Note:**

> This is the longest fic I've written yet and the entire first half was done between 1 AM and 2 AM. I tried to keep it in character and make sure it made sense, but I was also writing an English essay at the exact same time so who knows.


End file.
